FROM THE US NATIONWIDE TOUR WEBSITE
MIAMI, Florida -- Jason Kokrak held steady during a windy third round at the Miccosukee Championship and maintained his three-stroke lead heading into Sunday's finale. Kokrak fired a 3-under 68 and his 15-under 198 total is three better than Florida's Matt Every (67).
Chris Nallen (66) and Roger Tambellini (67) share third place, four back of the leader.
South Carolina's Mark Anderson (66) and England's Greg Owen (66) share fifth place, five behind Kokrak, who is in search of his second win in the past five weeks.
"It allowed for players hitting the ball well to play well," Kokrak said of the 10-20 mph winds. "It kept somebody from shooting 7, 8 or 9-under par today. I had a fair lead to start the round and I knew it would play to my advantage."
Kokrak started with a three-shot bulge and saved par on his first two holes, the second from about 18 feet. From there he added three birdies and was up by six at the turn.
"I knew I was up by a comfortable margin," he said. "I wouldn't say I played conservatively on the back, I just made sure that if I was going to miss, it would be on the right side of the hole."
With most of his closest challengers unable to mount a charge, Kokrak miscues didn't cost him. He hit only half the fairways and only 12 greens in regulation but managed his game and never saw his lead drop below three strokes.
He was up by four after a thin 8-iron tee shot wound up two feet from the cup at the par-3, 17th hole. The lead was cut to three when his 18-inch par putt on the final hole did a 360-degree spin out of the cup.
"It was just like any other day," he said. "I put myself in solid position and hopefully I can do that again tomorrow."
Every rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on the closing hole to grab a spot in Sunday's final pairing.
"You've got to realize the value of par out here today," he said. "Even on the easy holes, when you make a par, it's not the worst thing in the world. "
Third-Round Notes
• The largest 54-hole lead on the Nationwide Tour this year is 8 strokes by Steve Wheatcroft at the Melwood Prince George's County Open. J.J. Killeen led by four at the Cox Classic. Both Wheatcroft and Killeen won those events. No other player has held a lead greater than two strokes in the other events.
• Kokrak's three-shot lead ties the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history. Craig Bowden was up by three in 2003, the tournament's initial year. Bowden needed only an even-par 71 in the final round to win by one.
• Kokrak could guarantee himself a place among THE-25 leading money winners for the 2011 season with a win this weekend. Kokrak is No. 15 on the money list and the first-place check for $108,000 would push him over the $300,000 mark for the year and get him to No. 4 with only two events left to play.
• Luke List, playing in the final pairing with leader Jason Kokrak, stumbled badly on the opening nine with an 8-over 43 that knocked him out of contention. List had six bogeys and a double-bogey to start his day. He two-putted eight times and three-putted on the other hole on the front. He finished with an 8-over 79 and dropped into a tie for 56th place.
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English, who turned pro three weeks ago, continues his impressive summer play. English fired a 4-under 67 Saturday and is now 9-under for the week and T7. After graduating from the University of Gerogia in May, English won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational in July as an amateur. He continued to play amateur events and closed out his career as a member of the United States' losing Walker Cup team at Royal Aberdeen
English finished T49 in his pro debut at the Soboba Golf Classic. He lost a playoff the following week to Danny Lee at the WNB Golf Classic but missed the cut at last week's Children's Hospital Classic in Chattanooga, where he attended high school. English is No. 81 on the money list and has two weeks to get into the top-60 on the money list and qualify for the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island.
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